Jameson Lake is always one of the best rainbow trout spots, with trout averaging 13 inches. Almost across the road is Grimes Lake, which opens June 1. But Grimes can be red-hot for Lahontan cutthroats in the 5-pound range. Gear rules apply.

The WDFW regards Wapato Lake as the best spring trout fishery in Chelan County. It’s nicely planted with triploids and rainbows to 16 inches. Wenas Lake, just north of Yakima, was closed most of last year because of a jurisdictional dispute. But it’s been re-opened and re-stocked and should deliver some exceptional rainbows, browns and triploids early in the season.

A rough road leads to Mud Lake on Clemans Mountain near Naches. But at the end is a small pool packed with big triploids and flyfishermen in float tubes.

On White Pass, adjacent to Highway 12, Leech Lake is a small-boat, fly-fishing mecca for triploid rainbows and unusually large brook trout.

This high mountain lake is rarely ice-free before late May, however.

Stream fishermen turn to Rocky Ford Creek, the best spring creek in the state and one of the most challenging, and the Yakima River from Cle Elum to Roza Dam through the Ellensburg Canyon. “ The Yak” fishes best early in the year and again in fall after irrigation runoff ceases from the upriver irrigation reservoirs.

The Yakima is easily the top trout river in the state, although the Methow, Spokane, Kettle and extreme upper Columbia are also solid river bets.

The Naches River, west of Yakima, is beginning to build a decent trout population under strict selective fishery guidelines and can offer a few surprises in the 16-inch range.

~West Side~
The west side of the Cascades between British Columbia and Oregon holds literally hundreds of small trout lakes, nearly all stocked with rainbows, a few with triploids.

Most waters fish well during the first couple of weeks, then fade with May. But at some of the larger lakes, the introduction of triploids has extended the fishing deep into summer.

Picking top waters is almost impossible. But there are a few standouts, like Lake Wilderness in King County. Year-round, Battle Ground Lake near Vancouver is heavily stocked throughout the year with jumbos, triploids, brood stock, steelhead and catchable rainbows.

Lake Stevens is doing well with a developing triploid program. A net-pen trout-rearing project has breathed new life into Ohop Lake.

Mineral Lake produces some of the best catches in the Puget Sound region with a mix of rainbows, triploids, browns and broodstock.

Lone Lake on Whidbey Island offers 92 acres of quality fishing for solid numbers of triploids and rainbows. A one-day limit is one fish. And to take it home, that fish must be a minimum of 18 inches -- if that tells you anything!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terry W. Sheely, a full-time freelance writer and photographer, is the author and publisher of the 416-page Washington State Fishing Guide, now in its ninth edition.

Reach him by e-mail at tsheely@reachone.com

Find more about Washington-Oregon fishing and hunting at WOgameandfish.com